Magos

So he runs and runs, on his metal walkers, clutching his cloak amusingly... except that a trio of Magos were chasing him, in a form of various kinds of comicality. Shaking their manipulators and making sound like an ultrasonic beep. The one in pursuit was unsubscribing, and when he saw my fucking face, he nodded in a friendly way on the run, and gave me a mechanical voice:

- Greetings, Inquisitor. Retrogrades and blinders," he made a running gesture with his manipulator in the direction of his pursuers, running away and disappearing into the distance.

- Marginal, techno-retentive, the disgrace of Mars! - The pursuers broke into three voices, speeding up to follow him.

They have fun here, I diagnosed, checked my tablet and went into the laboratory. In the circular room, techno-jerks of various augmentations bustled about, a pair of gray knights propped up against the wall, and the xenotech I had brought into the center of the room. And Maximus was moving toward me, smiling benignly enough.

- Greetings, Ter! - he smiled. - At last you've torn yourself away from your books, I'm glad to see you.

- Greetings, Maximus," I answered. - I wish I had known you had so much fun, I would have come here long ago.

- Fun? - the interlocutor asked, and after my description of what I had seen in the most indecent way, he laughed. - Yes, it's almost a joke," he said, almost sobbing, but then he got serious and continued. - Warp knows what to do, though-the Order is in difficulty.

And to my legitimate interest, he told me the following story. So, the entire structure of Adeptus Mechanicus is a kind of clergy serving the God-Machine, the Omnissia. Magos are a caste of leaders, with a lot of nuances, but so. And so, Vallios the Reducer (no kidding, that's the name), got a dead world of minerals, a few low-ranking techno-jerks, and a crowd of servitors under his control about fifty years ago. He had established supplies to the nearby Forge Worlds in record time, and was increasing those supplies at a shocking and not quite explainable pace. He was about to be promoted... as a certain mechanicus subordinate to Reductor cries out about "technocrity and transgression of dogmas" and almost manufacturing sex machines for the sake of warp demons.

The mechanicus found themselves in an interesting position-the nearby Forge Worlds simply had no specialists available for "capture and delivery," and what they had was only good enough for "blowing the fuck up.

A year ago, an exemplary landing and capture operation was conducted on the Inquisition. The Inquisition never resisted, flashing its eyepieces and shoving diagrams and papers at the group. The assigned mechanicus, out of heresy, covered their eyepieces and did not look at the detainee at all. Which already put a couple of the Inquisitors in charge in an interesting position: the captured magos was laden with all the necessary sacred vessels, litanies of both the Cult of Omnissia and the Imperial Cult, no phonies in warp and no nasties to mend.

For six months he was the headache of the Ordo Machinum (the Ordo, which oversees technolubes directly), but no heresy was detected in his deeds. He rationalized and optimized technological processes, even fumed with special incense and smeared it with sacred grease, which is machine oil. And out came the fork - the mechanics, putting manipulators on this man, would anally punish him. Well, if they found an anus, and if there was one at all. But they would have found where to punish, for the very fact of interfering with the "will of the machine god" by a specialist who did not have the proper blessing from his superiors.

However, from the point of view of the Inquisition, this Magos was as pure as a baby's tear. Moreover, this type, sensing the coming trouble with his shiny metal ass, began to appeal to the Inquisition justice.

In general, we tried to include this magus in the staff of the Inquisition Fortress. What they did in the heat of the moment - for the last six months the staff of the "right" Magos had been persecuting the "techno-eretic" in order to punish him for many things. From non-kosher modifications, to confusing the minds of the lower ranks with logic and reason. About once a week, like on a schedule.

And to do the hell with this magos. He sincerely, with faith and the light of his eyepieces, embodies innovation and optimization for the glory of Omnissia and the Emperor, of course. And he considers his opponents to be heretics and fools. And to convince him to the contrary did not work, goodness, with brains in everything except "social norms in the head of fucked technophiles" Reductor was normal.

- Would you like a beer? - I inquired about this heart-breaking story.

- Cold? - Maximus asked tauntingly.

- And if it's warm, won't you drink it? - I was interested.

- I will, but with much less pleasure, - replied logically Inquisitor.

- I wanted to take your advice, - I went on after pouring the flask into a liter mugs. - I probably do not go to Schola. But I'd like to work as intended. And I'd like to start building a team. A year or two, something like that. And then I'd like to visit Enceladus.

- First the crew and then the archives? - Maximus snickered. - If I were you, I'd... Well, see for yourself. If you because of the investigation, from Ultramarines came full report. You're quite the legend," he grinned, and, answering a questioning look, he clarified. - The gate," he pointed to the xenotech, "opens into the deepest warp. There's no demonic presence there at... Emperor, I don't know how to measure distance, not really. But the spacemarines saw your battle with two chaos spawns. They are champions, no less. You won, you survived, and you did not succumb to one of them. So the memory loss is nothing, you got off very easy and accomplished a feat.

- A feat," I snapped back, giving him a stern look.

- Yes, indeed! - So he said. - Or do you think that such strong demons could go on doing nothing without hurting people? - And I shook my head. - Remember, every demon is an enemy, and slaying one is a deed for the sake of humanity.

- Okay. But anyway, I'd like to do business first," I said.

- Business is good business," Maximus sipped his beer. - And what advice do you expect from me?

- Where, how," I answered laconically. - I have no memory of my informants.

- You never had any," the mustachioed man interrupted me. - I was investigating for Ordos. You can do the same, my magos will throw out the right contacts. And there was no command, which is too bad, but it's good for you," he said sneeringly.

- Why isn't the Reducer made for the crew, by the way? - I asked.

- Who needs him? - Maximus snorted. - I mean, everyone's got one, but he wouldn't get along with any other mechanicus. Te-er," he muttered. - Take it! Fresh out of the oven... I don't mean that. Good mechanicus, in general! I've had it with these guys, they can't rest until they've disabled half the communications.

To illustrate my interlocutor's point, the light flickered, but was restored with a buzz. And I, almost baptized in the back by Maximus, went to agitate a marginal, techno-erotic and a disgrace of Mars. To join the not yet formed team, paranoidly wondering if they were shoving him to me on purpose. I was paranoid, wondering if he was being shoved at me on purpose. And claws and armor are needed. I was thinking logically, that I could use a magos, not a technoprovider like the rest of them.